Global Credit Crunch and Aftermath: Implications for HR NEW

Keynote Address: The Credit Crunch: How can HR help to beat the recession?

Scott Kelly, VP HR EMEA, Hitachi Data Systems

• Assessing priorities and managing the short-term crisis and sustaining long-term growth: identifying where to save and where to cut costs
• Avoiding knee-jerk reactions and highlighting key areas of focus for HR
• Getting the most from your HR department: conducting an HR skills audit and identifying and filling relevant skills gaps
• Aligning people strategies and business strategies and engaging with the boardroom

Reorganisation, restructuring or redundancy? Assessing your business position and deciding on the appropriate course of action to support your strategy

• What can HR do to influence the board and act as consultants to the business
• Selecting for change: exploring different options and approaches to manage the transition through a restructure. Getting from where you are now to where you want to be
• Developing a re-structure, reorganisation or redundancy plan
• Assessing your people data and maximising key dynamics pre and post restructure
• Being ready to respond when the economy recovers

Avoiding litigation and cost: key legal considerations for HR

Gary Freer, Employment Partner, McGrigors

Angus Menzies, Senior Associate, McGrigors

• Best practice legal advice on managing a redundancy: compulsory redundancy, voluntary redundancy, collective and individual redundancy
• Changing contractual terms – latest rules
• The impact of the age discrimination legislation on traditional methods of redundancy selection
• Consulting your workforce and working with trade unions
• Handling business transfers and mergers:
  • Identifying who transfers
  • Applying the TUPE regulations
• Learning from case law

View from the top: Managing a cross –country restructure: examining the typical pitfalls UK and US HR managers experience with pan-European restructuring

Edzard Clifton-Dey, International Employment Lawyer, Eversheds

• What are the typical issues encountered by HR: dealing with local works councils and trade unions
• Emphasising the cultural and legal differences
• Managing collective redundancies across Europe: practical advice
• What is the price of getting it wrong?

Interactive restructure exercise: delegates will have the opportunity to work on a restructuring scenario, identify the key HR issues encountered, and draft a project plan.

HR case study: managing an organisational restructure

• Key considerations: retaining the right people, reducing disruptive effects and keeping staff motivated
• Identifying the redundancy criteria
• Informing and consulting your people: learning from experience
• Retraining and re-skilling your staff to fulfil new requirements

Organisational change and communication: sustaining employee morale through a restructure

Tom Harvey, Head of Internal Communications, HSBC

• Motivating employees to accept and adapt to changes in the business
• Tackling employee perceptions of what the business change means for them
• Ensuring people are kept informed – and the lessons learned from not communicating with key groups

Managing your talent in difficult times: effective talent and employee engagement strategies

• Exploring key retention strategies for success
• Managing pay and reward – ensuring the close alignment of business strategy, reward policies and people strategy
• The psychological contract: realising what employees value and maximising reward
• Reviewing training needs and performance and appraisal processes

End of conference